Marriage Formation Department
Marriage and the Family are the foundation of society and that happy, stable marriages and families make a strong society. Today the attacks on the sanctity and stability of marriage and the family are a matter of serious concern. It is, therefore very important that the couples be well prepared to receive the Sacrament of Marriage.
A Marriage Preparation Course is the best way for the couples and for their future to make sure that they discuss all the most important decisions, values and expectations which they must agree on before they get married. Most young couples will have discussed some important aspects of their future marriage, but it is likely that they won’t have thought through all the issues which might need to be addressed.
A marriage preparation course allows one to benefit from the experiences of other married couples and family counsellors. It allows you and your partner to really sit down and think through, re-affirm and prepare yourselves for your marriage.
Even if it isn’t compulsory it’s always a good idea to attend one together. One of the best things about marriage preparation course is that it gets you to begin building the foundations of your marriage. The better prepared you are for your future life together, the more likely you are to find peace and happiness in your marriage.
A good marriage preparation course provides an open environment in which you can address all the issues which might affect your future marriage. A topic which is sensitive, might be divisive and which neither of you has had the courage to bring up. It allows one to benefit from the sessions and make easier for one to speak about things which one not have the confidence to bring up on your own.
If you are about to embark on a cross-cultural marriage, there are likely to be even more areas where one’s expectations and cultural values may be different. If one comes from a family where cross-cultural marriages are rare, then one may not have been able to benefit from the advice of friends and relatives. In this matter the marriage preparation courses which can help one to understand what marrying into each other’s culture may mean.
The Diocesan Family Service Centre through its Marriage Formation Department helps engaged couples to understand the richness of the Sacrament of Marriage and to discover its true beauty, thus helping spousal coupes to live their married and family life happily.
Some of the contents of the Marriage Preparation Programme are the following:
Spouses who have been encountering marital difficulties in their day to day life are encouraged to participate in the Marriage Enrichment Programmes conducted by the Marriage Formation Department. In several parishes, this programme has been offered to spouses who are married for the last five years, ten years and twenty years. This Department also organises programmes for the mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law
Other Essential Details:
Certificate: Participate will be given a Certificate only after completion of the Programme.
Validity of the Programme: The engaged couples may participate in the Programme even two years prior to their marriage. Hence, the Certificate is valid for TWO YEARS.
Venue of the Programme
NORTH GOA: Amor Holiday Home, St. Inez Goa
SOUTH GOA: St. John Paul II Complex, Nr. B.M Garage, Borda,
Margao – Goa
Our Programmes to Testimonials
Martiniano Fernandes – Aldona and Alzeena Fernandes – Pune
Feedback by Jervis John D. Moraes – Margao and Batul Bhatri – Dubai
